By pretty much every measure, Matt Bartkowski had a disastrous season, his (hopefully) only one with the Canucks. He was defensively inept, giving up an obscene number of scoring chances and shots against and dragging down his defensive partners. His one positive attribute—his speed—was unable to mask the many other problems with his game.
But it wasn’t all negative. His mom, Beth Bartkowski, was delightful. Luca Sbisa surely loved having Bartkowski on the team, as it took a lot of heat off of him. And Bartkowski tied for the team-lead in goals from a defenceman, for what that’s worth.
That last one is the most shocking. Prior to coming to the Canucks, Bartkowski didn’t have a single regular season goal, playing 131 games with the Bruins without hitting the back of the net. This season: six goals. Astounding.
As we look forward to a season without Bartkowski on the blue line, let’s look back at those six goals and pretend that they were the only thing he did in a Canucks sweater.
1 | October 18 vs Edmonton Oilers
Bartkowski’s first NHL goal comes off a long wrist shot from the blue line that Anders Nilsson just completely whiffs on. Perhaps he sees Bo Horvat barrelling in from the corner of his eye, distracting him for a split second, but even so, this puck has no business getting past him.
2 | November 2 vs Philadelphia Flyers
Bartkowski’s second NHL goal went into an empty net, capping off a 4-1 victory over the Flyers. Radim Vrbata is utterly selfless, eschewing an attempt at the empty net himself to give Bartkowski the tap-in. I wonder if Vrbata would have been so selfless if he had known he was in the second game of a nine-game goalless drought and that he would only score 13 goals for the season.
3 | February 9 vs Colorado Avalanche
It took three months for Bartkowski to score again. This is the goal that led to the Beth Bartkowski freakout, but somehow I missed the Super Mario Bros. mushroom sound effect just before he shot the puck. Clearly he powered up before scoring, likely with a fire flower judging from the heat on that wrist shot. A great goal, particularly with the fake slap shot to freeze the shot blocker first.
4 | February 25 vs Ottawa Senators
This was undoubtedly Bartkowski’s best game as a Canuck, as he held his own defensively and scored two goals. Two goals! And not just garbage goals, but essential, game-tying goals that led to a Canucks win. Sure, those who were actively rooting for the Canucks to lose at this point were probably pretty steamed, but this was good stuff!
On this one, he even gains the zone on the initial rush, putting his skating to good use. Then, when Markus Granlund’s centring pass to nobody banks back to him, he hammers a slap shot on net that takes a slight deflection off an Ottawa stick and in.
5 | February 25 vs Ottawa Senators
What an atrocious clear by Dion Phaneuf. Dan Hamhuis easily keeps it in at the line and finds Jake Virtanen, who spots a wide open Bartkowski. He fires a slap shot just inside the far post like he does it all the time. Which he doesn’t. Again, he didn’t score a single regular season goal in his career prior to this season.
6 | April 6 vs Edmonton Oilers
Bob Cole still has a great voice and I love listening to him call games, but he’s definitely lost a step over the years. It takes him a long time to figure out that Bartkowski scored this goal. That’s okay, though. I’m not sure who his colour commentator is, but he quickly (and correctly) ascertains that this puck goes in off Adam Pardy’s stick.
